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SAP teamed with CFO Research to carry out a global study which found an expanding role for large corporate treasury departments worldwide.

Most of the subject companies have multinational operations and multiple bank relationships, and thus are facing the need to integrate cash flow data from numerous sources in inconsistent formats. When asked specifically about treasury information systems, 22% of respondents believed their systems supported the goals of the treasury function “very well,” but 62% believed they were supported “adequately,” and 15% responded “less than adequately.”

According to the SAP press release:

“The study revealed that nearly two-thirds of corporate finance executives expect to see some degree of change in treasury over the next two years, with 16 percent planning extensive changes. Top priorities include optimizing treasury processes (44 percent) and upgrading treasury information systems and technology (38 percent).”

Against a backdrop of changing roles within the organization, treasury’s ability to contribute to corporate strategy is being hampered by system connectivity issues, including connectivity with banks, suppliers, and customers. The study also differentiates among the responses from CEOs, CFOs, and Treasurers, leading to some interesting observations about their respective opinions. In particular, CEOs are on average twice as likely as treasurers to assert that “significant improvement is needed” with respect to treasury’s ability to contribute to optimizing solutions for liquidity management and meeting global funding needs. The study clearly shows that the expectations of top management continue to grow with respect to treasury capabilities, and that treasury personnel often feel ill-equipped to meet those challenges.